The road to the NCAA Championships will be paved this week for the Florida men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams.
With only one qualification event remaining — the NCAA diving zones — Florida’s swimming and diving lineups for the upcoming championship meet in Atlanta will become official on Wednesday.
Seven total divers from both Florida teams will be qualifying for spots in the meet.
Senior diver Kahlia Warner, who captured two individual Southeastern Conference titles at the conference meet less than three weeks ago, is considered to be the favorite among all UF divers to qualify for the NCAAs.
Last week, nine swimmers from the No. 9-ranked women’s swimming and diving team were announced to be competing in the women’s NCAA Championship meet on March 16.
Among the nine female swimmers, seniors Natalie Hinds and Jessica Thielman will each compete in three of the Gators’ 14 individual events.
After finishing a disappointing sixth place in the SEC Championship meet, the Florida women’s team is preparing to finish the season on a high note.
With only a handful of practices remaining before the NCAA meet begins, UF swimming coach Gregg Troy noted the women’s team is preparing itself, both physically and mentally.
"We have a very focused group of women," UF coach Gregg Troy said.
Despite fielding only nine total swimmers for the upcoming four-day championship event, Troy is confident that the Gators have both the physical and mental tools necessary to have a strong outing in Atlanta.
"We think we are a top-10 team," Troy said. "How deep in the top 10 will depend on how well we compete."
As for the No. 4-ranked Florida men’s swimming team, the reigning four-time Southeastern Conference champions will have their swimming lineups for the NCAA meet determined on Wednesday. While the lineups will not be officially announced until then, Troy said that both he and his coaches expect about 13 swimmers from the men’s team to qualify for the NCAA meet.
Regardless of how many swimmers they will have beginning March 23, the No. 4 Gators will be riding into Atlanta on a wave of momentum.
Facing a stacked field that included three other top-10 nationally ranked teams in the SEC championship meet — No. 3 Georgia, No. 6 Auburn and No. 10 Tennessee — the Gators conquered their toughest competition of the season and captured the program’s fourth-consecutive SEC crown.
Even though there is not much that needs to be fixed for the reigning SEC champions, Troy knows that the smallest details could determine whether or not the Gators capture their first NCAA championship in more than 30 years.
"We’re not looking for anything dramatically different as much as we want to be a little sharper, a little bit crisper," Troy said.
"We want to make sure that we pay a little more attention to detail, not that it wasn’t important before, but it’s even more important now."
Contact Sean Doty at sdoty@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @TheRealSeanDoty.
Khalia Warner dives during Florida’s meet against Auburn on Jan. 23, 2016, in the O’Connell Center.
